Unrelated donor gives SE man new lease on life

Woman

donates kidney

By FRITZ BUSCH

Journal Staff Writer

SLEEPY EYE -- Retired Sleepy Eye Police Chief Ron Ellevold and Sleepy Eye Telephone Co. employee Rose Kohn were an unlikely pair of organ donors.

They were not related, but a strong bond was created between them Ellevold told her his plans for kidney transplant were dashed when he learned the organ he hoped for was diseased.

Kohn was so moved by Ellevold's admission that she offered him one of her kidneys on the spot in the telephone office. Ellevold only wanted to get his cell phone repaired when he walked into the office. What he eventually got was of far greater magnitude.

He was surprised at first. He asked her if she was sure of herself. She said he was. After some tests, it was determined that Kohn was a match.

The transplant at Methodist Hospital in Rochester went well for Ellevold. He was up the next day. After a month of monitoring at the Gift of LIfe Transplant House in Rochester, he returned home.

An infection put Ellevold back in the hospital but antibiotics beat it. It meant no more 4 1/2-hour dialysis treatments three times a week. He'll take anti-rejection drugs the rest of his life, but he has more energy to do things he really enjoys like fishing and seeing his grandchildren.

Kohn found fulfillment with her organ donation.

"I'm go glad Ron feels so well," she said.

Kohn was back home a few days after surgery. A little tired and sore, Kohn is doing well, but recovering a little slower than Ellevold but she is back at work in the telephone office.

Ellevold said the operation has given him more publicity than he ever thought. He was contacted by Reader's Digest magazine which is expected to include the transplant in its "unsung heroes" section in February 2003.

Kohn said she liked all the ink she got.

Kohn and Ellevold agree that more people should consider organ donation.

"There is such a shortage of donors for kidney and other organ transplants," Ellevold said. "It would be nice to see more people showing interest in it."

New transplant technology makes surgery easier to deal with. Anti-rejection drugs are creating more organ matches.

Living donors provide 35 percent of kidney transplants in the United States. The rate increases to 50 percent in the Midwest. Live donor kidneys last 25-30 years. Cadaver kidney longevity averages 9-10 years.

Living donors must must healthy with no medical condition that would endanger their lives during surgery.

Many organ donors are friends, neighbors and co-workers. Tissue matching is not as important today as it was. Donor and recipient gender doesn't matter. With laparoscopy, transplant incisions are small and participants can be back to work in 2 weeks.